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Start the day in a healthy way with cereal Many popular cereals are no more than a sugary snack, but if you read the labels, you find that breakfast cereals can be very nutritious food. Many cereals are high in dietary fiber, and many are fortified with nutrients, like the vitamin B folate, which can help protect against birth defects. According to Pat Harper,R.D. a dietitian based in Pittsburgh, Cerials are the ideal breakfast, they are convenient, quick and wonderfully nutritious. Despite Harvey Diamond's good intentions to introduce a breakfast consisting of fruits only to support the natural body cycle in his book "Fit for Life", that reached half a million readers. Researchers from the Georgia Centenarian Study discovered that people who reach the ripe old age of 100 consume breakfast more regularly than people who skip the most important meal of the day. A source of Serenity A study conducted in Wales showed that by eating breakfast cereal regularly, stress was reduced and physical and mental health improved. They found that people who ate cereal each day had lower levels of cortisol, a hormone that rises with higher levels of stress. Next, researchers like to find the reason why. Two servings for your heart. Supporting heart health is another reason for starting the day with a bowlful of nutritious cereal. Researchers in Boston found that men who eat more than one serving of whole-grain cereal a day had 20% less risk of dying from heart disease than men who rarely ate cereals. According to the study, men who ate at least one serving of whole-grain breakfast cereal per day had a 27% lower risk of dying from any cause compared with the men who rarely ate whole-grain cereal. Another study at Rush University in Chicago found that eating breakfast cereal reduced homocysteine levels by 7%. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is associated with heart attack rates. Many cereals are fortified with a series of essential vitamins and minerals that you might not get enough of otherwise, which is the best thing about cereals. They provide up to 25% of many important nutrients. Fiber content Dietary fiber is the key to a healthy diet. Apart from keeping digestion regular, it also reduce cholesterol. When in excess amounts, it can stick to artery walls, make blood vessels narrow and increase the risk of heart disease. When you eat cereal, you make sure that you get enough fiber. A serving of Wheaties or Cheerios, for example, has 3 grams of fiber. An oat bran cereal is even better. One serving provide 6 gram of fiber, or 25% of the Daily Value.Other first class cereals include Fiber One, with 13 gram per serving and Uncle Sam cereal with 10 gram per serving. Eating breakfast cereals is a good way to get a start on your fiber intake. But keep in mind that minus the cardboard boxes they're packaged in, most kids' cereals are virtually fiber free, says Dr Mc Allister, a family physician in Lexington, Kentucky. Pass up the marshmallows and free toys and instead, choose cereals made of bran and shredded wheat, which are rich in fiber, offering 5 grams or more per serving. Besides being good for your heart, cereals can also prevent colon cancer. The reason is that fiber in cereal causes stool to move through the intestine more quickly. The faster the stool moves, the less time there is for harmful substances to irritate the colon wall. The 25 to 30% fiber recommended is always hard to get from the diet, but by choosing high-fiber cereals more often, you have a better change of getting the fiber you need. If you need more motivation to increase your fiber intake, watch the number on the scale. A study conducted at the University of Rhode Island put one group of people on a 24-week exercise plan, a second group of people on the exercise plan plus a reduced-calorie diet, and a third group on the exercise plan plus a reduced-calorie diet including fiber-rich,, whole grain cereal. Both the second and the third group lost an average of 12 pounds, more than the folks in the exercise-only group. But as an added bonus, the people who ate cereal also improved the quality of their diets, by not only taking in more fiber, but also getting more magnesium and vitamin B6. Choose the Best Even though many breakfast cereals are high in fiber, others are only middling, and some contain neglectable amounts. Here are a few tips to help you find the most fiber in each serving. Follow the "rule of five" With so many high quality cereals to choose from, there's no reason to settle for second best, Harper says. Cereals that have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving are good choices, so she recommends setting a 5 gram minimum. Shop for variety Different cereals contain different types of dietary fiber. To get the best fiber boost, it's a good idea to mix cereals, Harper says. Wheat and rice cereals are high in insoluble fiber, which is the best kind for preventing constipation and reducing the risk of colon cancer. Oatmeal, on the other hand, contains mainly soluble fiber, which is the cholesterol lowering kind. Still other cereals, such as those that mix grains and fruit, contain both types of fiber, she adds. Buy the Bran Hot cereals such as corn, wheat or oat bran are excellent sources of fiber, Harper says. In fact, any cereal that contains the outer portions of grains will contain more fiber than its "lighter" counterparts. So when buying cereals, look for those that say "bran" or "whole grain" on the label. Keep your guard up. Don't choose a box just because it says "oats" or "wheat", advises cardiologist Michael M. Davidson, M.D. executive medical director of Radiant Research in Chicago. Manufacturers can put almost anything on (or in) a box of cereal. A cereal labelled "wheat" for example, could have only a trace of the grain and almost no fiber, Dr Davidson says. So before putting any cereal in your cart, read the label. Examine thoroughly the freeze-dried Think twice about cereal with freeze-dried fruit. Fruits are usually added to low-fiber refined-grain cereals. It's better to add your own fruit to high fiber cereals. Look for this label Choose cereals with the new "help reduce the risk of heart disease" label. These claims are approved by the FDA because cereals bearing this label contain certain heart-healthy ingredients. Watch portion sizes One study found that most people eat two times a portion size on the box of cereal. While you may think this is doubling your fiber, it's also doubling your calories. About the Author: I became interested in nutrition and weight management while I was an associate with a nutritional supplement company. Since 2008 I wrote several articles about nutrition and weight loss. I have been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 8 years. You can find more articles about Nutrition and Healthy Living by visiting:https://nutrobalance2.net
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dietary fiber, vitamin B folate, magnesium, high-fiber cereals, oat bran, shredded wheat, corn,
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